Ore-concentrator



Patented Oct. 9, 12894,

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`(No Model.)

PATENT y einen,

All/IOS CHURCH SPRINGER, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

ORE-CONCENTRATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 527,223, dated October9, 1894.

Application filed November 8, 1893. Serial No. 490.370. (No model.)

Seattle, King county, State of Washington,

have invented an Improvement in Ore-ConcentraterS; and I hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description l of the same.

My invention relates to that class of concentrators in which theore-pulp and Water are fed upon the surface of an endless traveling belthaving what is called an uphill travel, whereby the heavier and preciousparticles or sulphurets, clinging to the surface of the belt are carriedup the incline over the head of the machina-and are Washed off in asuitable tank below, While the lighter and Worthless particles ortailings, together with the Water, pass down the belt and are dischargedover its foot. These machines are commonly known as endless beltconcentrators or vanning machines, and among various distinctions anddifferences between the several machines of this type or class, thereare two which relate broadly to the construction of the Working surfaceof the belt. These are, first, a belt having a single, undivided orunpartioned surface, the Whole Width of the belt and bounded only byside flanges, and, second, a belt, the surface of which is divided byribs or partitions into a number of parallel runs, channels or sluicesextending in the direction of the travel of the belt, said belts havingreceived the name of sluiced belts.

My invention consists in certain new and useful improvements in endlessconcentrator belts generally, and particularly in the class of sluicedbelts,and in the drums and rollers upon which the belts are mounted,said improvements being hereinafter fully described and claimed, andhaving for their general object the provision of a concentrator of theendless belt class in which, by reason of the peculiar construction ofthe belt and ofthe drums and rollers upon which the belt is mounted,said belt will travel straight and true and be held in position underall the circumstances of its operation.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanationof my invention,-Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sect tion of myconcentrator. Fig. 2 is a cross section on line wof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is anenlarged section of a portion of the belt showing the manner ofattaching the ropes.

A is an endless belt, here shown as a sluiced belt, its outer or workingsurface being divided by ridgesor ribs B into a number of fparallelchannels, runs or sluices a, extending in the line of travel of thebelt.

D is the beltcarrying frame, having a head or driving drum E, a foot ortail drum F, supporting rollers G for the upper told of the belt androllers H for supporting, guiding and directing the lower fold of thebelt in its proper course. i

I is the main frame upon which the belt frame is suitably supported,inorder to have ,imparted to it such shake or vibration, as may be desiredand as usual in endless belt eoncentrators. The details of this support,need not be herein particularly described nor illustrated, nor need thedetails of the shaking mechanism nor of the mechanism for iinparting anup-hill travel to the belt, be described or illustrated, for these formno part of my invention. Neither need the Water and pulp distributersabove the head portion of the belt be shown as these are common and areWell understood.

It is of great importance to make the belt run straight and true uponits drums and rollers, especially when the belt is made of fabric suchas canvas or a combination of canvas and blanket, or other material lessstiff and rigid` than heavy rubber, as such.

belts have a tendency to work off and not run fair. To eect this objectof guiding the belt and making it run true and straight, I provide itsinner surface with a series of ribs or ridges C, extending in the lineof travel of the belt, and I further form the drumsE and F, and therollers G and Hwith circumferential grooves e fg and h, respectively.The ribs C engage the grooves of ,drums E, F and rollers G, and the ribsB engage the grooves of rollers H and thus the belt over its entirewidth and length is guided and held With precision in a straight, truecourse, at all times, and will not be deliected therefrom, no matterwhat may be its load nor the shaking motion imparted thereto.

This improvement, though applicable to IOC any belt concent'rator, isespecially useful in a s luiced belt, and more particularly in a sluicedbelt made of canvas or other fabric, such as I prefer to make my beltof. In this preferred form of belt a special novelty lies in theconstruction herein shown, and to which Ilay specific claim, namely, ofmaking the outer` rib B and the inner rib O` directly opposite of thesame single piece, such as a piece of rope, and'so sewing the rope tothe canvas or rather the canvas to the rope, that a portion of the ropewill project beyond the general outer surface of the belt to form the outer rib or ridge B, and the remaining portion will project from theinner surface thereof to form the inner rib or ridge C.

The rope is preferably laid on the inner surface of the belt and isexposed therein, while its upper or outer projection has the canvasfolded over it and hemmed to and through its sides in a plane parallelwith the surface of the belt, thereby preserving the even surface of thecanvas without exposing the rope.

I am aware that it is not new to sew ropes upon the surface of a canvasbelt to form sluices thereon, and I am also aware of the use of a numberof independent narrow belts passing over drums and rollers which areprovided with flanges rising beside and between the edges of theseparate belts to guide them, and I do not claim these as my invention,but

What I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. An endless belt fora concentrating machine, composed of canvas orother fabric and ropes sewed or secured thereto in such manner that eachof said ropes projects from each ropes in a plane parallel to thegeneral surface of the belt whereby a covered portion of the ropesprojects from the outer surface of the belt dividing it into runs,channels or sluices, and an exposed portion of the ropes projects fromthe inner surface of Vthe belt,A

substantially as herein described.

3. In an endless belt concentraton'the combination of an endless beltcomposed of canvas or other fabric and ropes placed upon the innerside-thereof in the line of the belt travel, the canvas or fabric of thebelt being stitched or secured to and through the ropesin a planeparallel to the general surface of the belt whereby a covered portion ofthe rope projects from the outer surface of the belt and an uncoveredportion thereof projects from the inner surface,and drums and rollersupon which the belt is mounted, provided with grooves with which theropes engage to guide the belt, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

AMOS CHURCH SPRINGER. lVitnesses:

R. V. ANKENY, F. OHRISTIANER.

